BEIJING (Dispatches) - China has called on the U.S. to stop holding talks with military officials from Taiwan and to refrain from selling weapons to the self-ruled island.
“China will act firmly to defend its own sovereignty and security interests,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a regular press briefing on Friday, when asked to comment on the U.S. State Department’s recent approval of arms sales to Taiwan.
He reiterated that Beijing has always been firmly opposed to US arms sales to Taiwan.
“China is calling on the United States to stop selling arms to Taiwan and military contacts between Washington and Taipei,” Wenbin said.
The development came in the wake of the approval of a $1.65 trillion spending package in U.S. Congress last week, which includes $2 billion in the financing of military sales for Taiwan for the current fiscal year.
Wang said China urges the U.S. to abide by the “one-China” principle and the three Sino-American joint communiques and earnestly act on the commitment made by the US leadership of not supporting “Taiwan independence.”
Under the “One China” policy, nearly all countries across the globe recognize Beijing’s sovereignty over Taiwan, including the US, which has no formal diplomatic ties with the territory but continues to support its anti-China stance and supply it with massive amounts of armaments.

U.S. to Sell Taiwan
Anti-Tank System

The U.S. State Department has approved the sale of an anti-tank mine-laying system to Taiwan.
The department said the Volcano system and all related equipment would cost an estimated $180 million.
It’s capable of scattering anti-tank and anti-personnel mines from either a ground vehicle or helicopter. The announcement indicated Taiwan would be buying the vehicle-borne version, the kind of general-use weapon many experts believe Taiwan needs more of to dissuade or repel a potential Chinese invasion.
To advertise that threat, China’s military sent 71 planes and seven ships toward Taiwan in a 24-hour display of force directed at the self-ruled island it claims is its own territory, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said.
Relations between the U.S. and China have grown tense in recent years, with the world’s two largest economies clashing over a range of issues including trade, territorial disputes and human rights, as well as the origins of the novel coronavirus.